


Like a Seeping Mist, I will Creep

by Donuts4Dragons (TheAlpineSea)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Ben Solo, Cat BB-8, Cockatoo Hux, Dog Kylo Ren, F/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:02:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23465827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlpineSea/pseuds/Donuts4Dragons
Summary: There's a cat breaking into Ben's apartment.And dealing with the cat's pretty owner only makes it worse.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 84





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off a youtube video I came across the other day. A family set up a camera to check up on their dog, who’d get nervous when her owners left, only to find that their cat comes and snuggles with their dog on the couch to comfort her. Not really sure why that made me think of Reylo, but here we are.
> 
> Oh, and this was meant to be a 4000 word One-Shot. Oops.
> 
> The title is a quote from Mr. Tinkles from the movie 'Cats and Dogs' because I liked the quote and I totally forgot this movie existed until I started thinking of possible titles. And I feel like the world needs a reminder that that movie happened.

The first incident occurred at two A.M., four days after moving into his new apartment.

Ben had stumbled blearily into the kitchen, to get a glass of water. And he found the Cat sitting in his sink.

Problem was, Ben didn’t own a cat.

It was curled up in his Kitchen sink, all creamy fuzz and confidence. Definitely a cute cat.

They had both blinked at each other for a moment, Ben beweildered and the cat-intruder visibly unimpressed. The Cat rolled its eyes (Can cats do that?) and turned away, ready to hunker down.

It was then that that Ben finally come to terms with what he was seeing enough to actually doing something about it. When Ben tried to shoo it away, the Cat gave him a nasty look, flicked its whiskers and smoothly darted down and across the floor.

And then it was gone.

Ben checked and, sure enough, all the windows and doors were closed and locked. Just to be safe he unlocked and relocked each of them.

And he still had no idea how the Cat had gotten in.

——

Incident Two happened not even a week later.

Ben was replying to Senator Snoke’s emails to say that FOR THE LAST TIME, he would NOT be returning to work on the Senator’s campaign.

In the middle of typing the phrase “political plague to society”, Ben heard a rustling sound.

He looked up to see the same Cat sitting ON TOP of his baby fern. The Cat was delicately sniffing at one of the fronds it was simultaneously squishing under it’s weight.

Ben bolted up with a shout, almost knocking his laptop to the floor. The furry interloper huffed at him before speeding around the corner and, again, DISAPPEARRING.

This was only the beginning of almost daily visits featuring the mysterious Cat.

Ben would come home from work to find the Cat halfway up his new curtains, or tearing the morning’s paper into tiny strips. Or he’d wake up in the middle of napping on the couch to see the Cat peering at him from the dining table.

Once he about had a heart attack coming out of the shower. When pulled back his shower curtain, he was immediately greeted by the Cat perched on his bathroom counter. Made him slip and fall to the shower floor.

Its pale blue eyes swept over him, expression making Ben feel like he was lacking. And then the Cat turned and, surprise, disappeared.

Ben could never figure where it came from and, no matter what he did, the Cat continued to show up on random for the entire month of March. And it drove him insane.

He’d chase it around the apartment, and then it would ALWAYS disappear. He never opened the windows or doors unless he was in the middle of leaving, and yet, the Cat always got in.

He even pushed himself into asking his neighbors if they had a cat, which they didn’t.

And yet there was the Cat, shedding all over his couch and tearing his newspaper to shreds.

Then came the first day of April. He was walking into his apartment during a heated phone call with his mother about some big charity event.

And there was the Cat, staring up at him from the welcome mat, eyes squinting in judgement.

Ben huffed, shooed it away with his foot and proceeded to tell his mother just what he thought about her “Charity Events”. The Cat hissed at him once as it did its usual disappearing trick.

And then it didn’t come back.

——

Ben was so relieved to have peace and calm in his apartment again.

And then a couple weeks passed.

And Ben was still relieved to not be plagued by judgmental cat contortionists. But all the peace and calm made him realize just how empty and quiet his life was. And, for some reason, that didn’t feel so good anymore.

So he called up Phasma, one of his only real friends and the only person from work that bothered to keep in contact after Ben quit Senator Snoke’s campaign. They met for coffee during a lunch break as Ben recounted the cat plaguing incidents.

She just scoffed and said, “Sound like a cat I’d like.”

Ben glared at her.

“I’ll send it your way next.”

“Sure. You said it hasn’t shown up since?”

“Yeah, thankfully. It’s nice come home and not find strange animals hanging out.” He paused for a second. “The apartment has been quieter than I remember though.”

Thankfully, Phasma seemed to know exactly what Ben was trying say, despite him not coming out and saying it.

“You could try getting a dog. It can be nice have an animal being there to greet you when you come home. I like coming home from a bad day at work, which, to be real, is everyday for me, and have Hux there. Not that I like him all the time, but…” She trailed off, contemplating what to say next.

Ben looked at her skeptically, “Hux’s a jerk.”

She gave a small smirk.

“Yeah, he is.” She said almost fondly.

“No, I mean, I really don’t want a cockatoo.” Ben clarified.

“Which is why I suggested a dog. They’re a better companion pet anyways.”

Ben’s first reaction was to reject the idea completely.

But then he thought about his family’s old dog, Chewie. His dad and Chewie had been practically inseparable. Han even took him on his flights, roaming the states in his prized plane. Chewie had followed him everywhere and was really HAN’s dog.

But, when teenage Ben had been at odds with his parents, Chewie would seek him out. He visit Ben’s room or join him in the backyard, just to hang out next to him.

Phasma continued, “Dogs are bit more work to take care of, but I feel like you’d be a dog person.”

Ben cleared his throat, still thinking about Chewie.

“I’ll think about it.”

Two weeks later, and a lot of research later, Ben was sitting in a fenced field at Happy Hielkin’s Farms, surrounded by over-excited little Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies.

The soft and easily-distracted puppies tumbled around him.

Until a particularly gangly one curled up on his leg and hesitantly licked at Ben’s finger. And then proceeded to fall asleep.

Ben named him Kylo.

——

Ben juggled around all the pet supplies in his arms, attempting to free a hand to reach for the elevator button.

“Do you need a hand?”

Ben glanced over at the newcomer. It was someone he’s never met before, with shoulder length dark hair and expressive eyes. Pretty. And was that a British accent?

She looked over the contents in his hands and wordlessly reached out to get the elevator button for him.

“I can help carry something for you?” She offered.

He shook his head. The elevator doors opened and they got in. She turned back towards him.

“I don’t think we’ve met before, you live here right?”

“Yeah.”

They stood in awkward silence again.

“Are you getting a new dog?” She asked, gesturing to all the things he was holding.

“Yeah.”

She waited a bit.

Ben wasn’t sure what she expected from him.

Was it normal in England for strangers to talk to each other on the elevator? It definitely wasn't something Ben was comfortable with. It didn’t help that she was so pretty either. Ben avoided her searching gaze.

Finally she turned away and drawled “Okay…”

And Ben had the distinct feeling that he did something wrong.

The elevator doors opened on the sixth floor and she got off with a terse, “Have a good day.”

Ben stood there awkwardly in the unmoving elevator until he realized that his floor wasn’t selected.

When Ben finally got to his apartment and started organizing his new pet supplies, he felt especially thankful that his soon-to-be new life-companion couldn’t judge his conversational skills. This will be good, Ben reassured himself.

——

Kylo was not happy when Ben left for work.

Things were great for the most part. When Ben would get home Kylo would run around the apartment excitedly, and when Ben would sit down with a book, Kylo would snuggle up next to him on the couch. They’d go to the park everyday and Kylo would frolic around in the Fall leaves in a way that would make Ben grin. There’d been a couple accidents with the puppy pads, but Ben expected that.

And Ben looked forward to opening his apartment door to someone (or something) that unconditionally adored him.

Yet, not everything was going well.

The workers at Happy Hielkin Farms had warned him that Rhodesian Ridgebacks don’t do very well with being alone at first. And they said that Kylo would get comfortable with Ben leaving the apartment eventually.

But for now, each time Ben got ready to leave, Kylo would crowd him, following him so closely around the apartment that he would almost get under Ben’s feet. And then, once Ben got out the door, he could hear Kylo’s nervous whines all the way down the hall.

One afternoon, Ben heard a knock on the door and opened it to find his neighbor, Poe Dameron. Despite Ben having only moved in five weeks ago, Poe had managed to pop up everywhere Ben went. That, plus the fact that Poe works on Leia’s PR team, has only convinced him that Poe’s spying on him for his mother.

“Did you get a dog?” Poe asked without preamble.

Ben narrowed his eyes at him.

“What makes you say that?”

“I can hear a dog in your apartment during the day. It was whining when I left for lunch and I could still hear it when I came back a few hours later.”

The fact that Poe had been checking out his apartment only supported Ben’s spy theory. But Ben’s scowl dropped hearing that Kylo had been pining for most of the day.

“He sounded upset?”

“Yeah, he was scratching at the door too.”

Ben sighed, mentally debating what to do. Poe stood silently for a moment before launching into a barrage of other questions.

“So when did you get a dog? What kind of dog did you get? What made you decide to get a dog? Can I meet him?”

Ben scowled again.

“No.”

And then Ben shut the door in Poe’s gaping face and walked straight to his couch and laptop. He sat down and searched ‘What to do when a dog has separation anxiety?’.

Kylo clambered up onto the couch. As Ben read the results, Kylo squeezed himself into the tiny space between the arm of the couch and Ben’s leg.

Ben glanced down at him, “You know I’m not leaving forever when I leave for work, right?”

The dog blinked up at him, wide-eyed.

“I guess you don’t.”

The puppy huffed before proceeding to shove his cold nose under Ben’s thigh.

Ben turned back to his computer screen.

The first result was ‘Seperation Anxiety: How to keep your dog calm when you leave’.

“Here we go. Hopefully this works.” Ben murmured to the quiet Kylo.

The next morning, Ben left one of his more well-worn t-shirts on Kylo’s dog bed. And then when Ben finally left for work that day, he put some peanut butter in one of those cone-toys to distract Kylo.

And, after watching carefully for a few days, it seemed like it was working. Kylo was less frantic when Ben started preparing to leave. And when Ben returned, Kylo was no longer curled up by the front door, but would instead come to greet him from the living room or bedroom.

And with Kylo more at ease, Ben found that life was looking brighter. Sure it had only been a couple weeks, but Ben was already glad Phasma convinced him to adopt Kylo.

——

Ben watched Kylo as he thoroughly sniffed a cluster of grass. He allowed himself a small smile when Kyo sneezed.

“Ben, are you listening to me?”

He sighed.

“Yes, I’m listening.”

His mother hummed skeptically on the other end of the phone, before continuing.

“I was just saying, I understand you don’t want to come to the usual events, but your Uncle Lando is coming up from LA for the Foundation’s Gala and I think…”

Ben tuned his mother out as Kylo decided he was done with the grass and started straining on the leash again. They continued walking down the park path just as a familiar figure caught his eye.

The girl from the elevator was sitting a few benches away, absorbed in a book.

Her hair was all twisted up and held in place by a pen. She was biting her lip and the hand that wasn’t holding the book was playing with the fringe of her scarf.

Normally, fidgety people annoyed Ben, but there was something about seeing her sitting there that caught his eye. The wind started to pick up, picking up some of the fall leaves and attempting to flip the pages of her book. And the escaping tendrils of her hair fluttered about her face.

“Are you outside, Ben?”

Ben’s attention was drawn back to his mother’s voice.

“I’m just on a walk.”

Her voice perked up.

“With your dog?”

Ben stopped in his tracks in shock. Kylo looked up at him curiously, wondering why they had stopped.

“How do you know I got a dog?”

“Oh, you probably mentioned it to me at some point.” Leia said all casual, Ben could almost see her waving a hand dismissively.

He definitely did not mention getting a dog to his mother.

Friggin’ Poe.

Leia continued, “Are you at Ashwood Park? That would be just perfect! I’m actually at Gavin’s Grains, you know, that bakery right next the park?”

Ben glanced up in terror at a giant sign just in front of him that indeed said ASHWOOD PARK in big letters.

“How about I come-“

Ben cut her off, “Yeah, actually, we’re just heading back, so you don’t have to worry about that. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

Ben quickly hung up before his Mom could say anything else.

“Come on, Kylo. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”

Kylo just wagged his tail, excited, obviously not understanding the seriousness of the situation. At least, how serious it was for Ben. He tugged Kylo along on the leash, beelining for the closest park exit. Ducking under a thrown frisbee, Ben and Kylo almost made it to the exit.

The outside street had just come into view when Leia Organa-Solo appeared in front of them, in all her perfectly-coiffed-with-her-designer-handbag glory.

“Ben!”

His shoulders slumped in resignation, they chose the wrong exit.

“Hi, Mom.”

She beamed at him, “I wasn't sure if I’d be able to catch you two before you left.”

Ben reached up to rub at the back of his neck.

“Yeah, well we do need to get back-“

Leia paid him no mind as she headed straight for the frozen Kylo, cooing, “And what is this handsome guy’s name?”

Ben sighed, “His name’s Kylo.”

Leia looked up at him, squinting.

“Really?”

He met her gaze, unamused, “Yes.”

She looked back down at Kylo, reaching out a hand for him to sniff. Kylo snuffled at her hesitantly for a moment before deciding that Leia must be a friend. He allowed her to rub at his neck for a moment before proceeding to crowd her legs excitedly.

“I like him already,” she said with a soft chuckle, attention still focused on scratching Kylo behind the ears.

“You’ll do great with him. You and Chewie always did well together.” She murmured. Then, she looked back up at Ben with a soft smile as the dog licked at one of her hands. “You should bring Kylo by the house sometime, so Han can meet him too. I’ll make some of those pumpkin donuts you love.”

Ben cleared his throat, watching his dog fawn over his mother, tail whipping around.

“Yeah, I could do that.”

Her smile widened and Ben found himself giving a hesitant one in response.

——

There was hair on the couch.

Which wouldn’t be that weird (considering the both the apartment occupants had hair). But Kylo hardly sheds at all.

And these hairs were LONG and WHITE.

As Ben shrugged on his coat, he glared at the couch. He knew exactly who, or rather, WHAT could be shedding all over his couch.

He stooped down to clip a leash onto Kylo’s collar. The dog was prancing around enthusiastically.

“Don’t get too riled up. My parent’s house isn’t that exciting.”

Ben sent one last nasty look towards the hair covered couch before opening the apartment door.

The puppy burst forward, so quickly that Ben lost his grip on the leash. Kylo sprinted, without Ben, toward the elevator, limbs flailing.

Ben swore and started chasing after him.

“Kylo! Stop!”

The elevator doors opened to let a couple out, some of his neighbors. And they immediately had to jump to the side with a gasp as Kylo almost barreled into them. The puppy ignored them and rushed through the elevator doors. Which closed themselves uncharacteristically fast behind him.

Ben and the old couple all gaped at the closed elevator doors and then at the screen above the elevator containing showed it heading down to the lobby. With an unsupervised puppy inside.

Ben swore again and raced to the stairs, imagining a panicking Kylo careening around the lobby and scaring the 90-year-old doorman to death. Perhaps literally to death, considering how old he is.

It was a struggle fitting Ben’s giant feet on the tiny steps as he hurried down, but eventually Ben got a rhythm going as he made his way down the 8 floors. His footsteps echoed in the stairwell and he could HEAR his blood pumping. What is Kylo managed to leave the lobby and run out onto the street? Where all the cars are? Ben picked up even more speed.

Turning the corner at floor 3, Ben came face to face with, as luck would have it, Pretty-Elevator-Girl. Her hazel eyes widened at the sight of him and her lips parted.

And Ben was going so fast that he was certain he’d plow right into her.

“MOVE!”

She leapt to the side, plastering herself to wall just as Ben sped past her.

“Sorry!” He called behind him, continuing on his way to the lobby.

He felt kinda bad, considering he almost flattened her, but who takes the stairs, anyways? And he had a puppy to go save.

Ben finally reached the door to the lobby, pushing through. He, panting, searched the lobby for signs of his dog.

And there was his puppy, rolled over, belly displayed and tongue lolling, at the feet of the 90-year-old doorman. Ben sighed and headed over.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Tekka. I lost ahold of my dog up in the hallway.”

For a moment, Ben watched worriedly as Mr. Tekka’s body started to shake.

“Are you alr-“

Mr. Tekka cut him off with hooting laughter.

“In all my forty years of being doorman, I’ve never seen a dog using an elevator all on his own.”

The doorman continued laughing, as Kylo uprighted himself and glanced around all proudly, like he’d done this great thing.

A great tiredness settled over Ben’s body as he realized that Mr. Tekka and Kylo were both fine.

“Alright, Kylo, no more running around for you. And this won’t be happening again.” Ben said with a stern look, reaching for the trailing leash.

Kylo practically pranced as they headed to Ben’s car. And Ben kept such a tight grip on the leash that his fingers ached.

——

“Think he’ll get as big as Chewie?”

Ben turned to look over at his father. The sunlight streaming into his Parent’s backyard played over Han’s face, making him look younger. More like how Ben knew him from when he was little.

“Kylo will get big, but Chewie was huge.”

Han scoffed into his glass of iced tea, “What kind of name is Kylo anyways?”

“What kind of name was Chewie?” Ben shot back.

Han paused and then shrugged before placing the half-full glass on the table next to them.

“Fair point.”

They both looked back out into the backyard, where Kylo was chasing a squirrel. They watched in silence as Kylo almost ran head-long into a tree.

“You know, I think we’ve still got some pet supplies drifting around the house. For Flea Prevention and the like. Would you want to take some with you when you go?” Han asked, eyes still glued to the hyper Kylo.

Ben shrugged.

“If they’re easy to find.”

“Ben!” Leia called from inside the house. “Can you help me fetch a bag of flour from the pantry?”

He sighed, before leaving Kylo and his dad alone in the backyard. He entered the house, into his parent’s state-of-art kitchen, with marble countertops and fridges with computer-screens.

Surrounding his mother was a pile of measuring spoons and an enormous bowl of pumpkin filling.

“Thank you, Ben. The bags are toward the back of the pantry. I would ask your father, but he’s been showing his age lately.”

Ben entered the enormous pantry, which was about the same size as his apartment’s kitchen, and hefted a truly giant bag of flour onto his shoulder.

“Why so you have so much flour? You could open a bakery with this.”

He dropped the bag onto the counter with a thud.

Leia beamed up at him, “I often help cook some of the desserts for the events. It’s nice to add a little bit of homecooking to the buffet. It’s always greatly appreciated.” She paused for a second before continuing. “You know, you haven’t been to one of our events for a while now. We’ll be having a Charity Auction for-“

Ben cut her off, “Mom, don’t bother, I’m not coming to any of your “parties”. You should know that by now.”

She huffed, “They’re hardly just parties, Ben. If you would come I’m sure you’d find that-“

“I’ve been to ALL of these before. All of the Auctions and Galas and Grand Openings and Mixers. All of them. Do you FORGET how often you’d force me to come when-“

“That was years ago, I’m sure now-“

“What can’t you understand that I DON’T WANT to go?” Ben started to raise his voice. “THIS is the reason I don’t come over anymore! Because you keep trying pull stuff like this! You keep trying pull me into your world. Like you’re trying to “rehabilitate” me into society! Like there’s something WRONG WITH ME!”

A dry voice joined them.

“Sorry to interrupt this heart-to-heart moment, but we’ve got a bit of a dilemma.”

They both turned to look at Han. Who was gingerly holding Kylo. Who was wrapped and tangled up in what seemed like a never-ending length of rope.

Ben rushed forward, hands outstretched to take the mummified puppy from Han.

“What happened?!”

Han carefully passed the puppy-bundle to Ben. Kylo looked up at Ben with confused eyes.

“The dog was playing by the shed, I looked away for ONE second and the next he was wrapped up like this.”

Ben set Mummy-Kylo on the counter and got to work trying untangle the rope.

Leia rushed over to a drawer, pulling out some heavy-duty scissors, “We might have to cut him out, it looks pretty bad.”

Ben steadied the Kylo-Bundle on the counter as Leia started sniping at the cords tangled around the puppy’s feet.

“Too bad Halloween already passed.” Han said. “He would’ve made an excellent mummy.”

Ben glanced up to shoot his father a dubious look.

But as soon as Ben did so, the still-semi-wrapped-Kylo started propelling his now-free feet.

He shot out of Ben’s hands. And made it just far enough to plunge headfirst into Leia’s massive bowl of Pumpkin filling.

Ben, Leia and Han gawked for a moment until Kylo’s still rope-wrapped-body lifted its head from the bowl. And his orange-goop-covered-face showed only intense regret.

Then Leia and Han burst into laughter.

And as Kylo recoiled at the taste of pumpkin, Ben couldn't stop himself from joining in.

Han, still chuckling, left to go get a towel. And Leia and Ben began the task of cleaning Kylo up.

“Looks like you won’t be wanting any pumpkin donuts.” Leia said to Kylo.

Ben smiled at the still cringing Kylo. Hopefully he learned his lesson about rushing into things. Like elevators and ropes and bowls of pumpkin filling.

Leia turned to Ben, “After we get Kylo cleaned up, I can crack open another can of pumpkin, would you still want me to make some donuts? I can send some home with you.”

Ben hesitated.

“Maybe it would be better to do next time?”

Leia’s mouth opened.

“Next time?”

Ben nodded, “I’ll make sure Kylo stays out of the food.”

Leia’s eyes softened, “That’d be great.”

Han walked in, smirking.

“Look what I found.”

He proudly brandished an orange towel with a pumpkin-themed trim.

Both Ben and Leia raised their eyebrows, unimpressed.

Han ignored them, “Now we just need to get some kids begging for sugar, then we’d have a real halloween going.”

Kylo decided that moment was the perfect time to shake. Which meant shaking out the water, and remaining bits of pumpkin, all over the kitchen.

Ben, now covered in bits of pumpkin filling, sighed.

Good thing Kylo was cute.

——

The puppy stared up at him, eyes wide. Ben tried to ignore him as he worked on finishing his toast.

Kylo gave a pitiful whine and prodded his nose against Ben’s pants

“You literally just ate.” Ben informed him. “You’re not even hungry.”

Kylo whined again in response.

Ben pointed an accusing finger in Kylo’s direction, “You’re not even supposed to eat anything other than dog food anyways. This is MY breakfast.”

Kylo’s eyes grew bigger, if that was even possible.

Ben sighed and gave a Kylo a little bit of crust. The dog immediately took it, his tail wagging furiously.

“You’ve made me such a pushover.” Ben stared at Kylo as he chewed on the crust. “Is it normal to talk so much to your dog? Or am I finally going insane?”

Ben turned to his half-finished omelette, still questioning his mental state. He paused in the middle of reaching for his fork as his phone rang. He checked the Caller ID, becoming more confused.

He answered the phone.

“I thought we were texting-people, not calling-people. Aren’t you at work by now anyways?”

Phasma ignored him and announced, “I’m quitting.”

Ben’s eyebrows raised skeptically, “You’ve said that before.”

“I really mean it this time, I’m turning in my resignation by the end of today. I just finished writing it now.”

“What brought this on?”

“Well, you know yourself that this place is it’s own special brand of Hades. But Snoke really upped it a notch when he informed me that I was expected overtime and weekends for the next three weeks.” She snorted, “While HE’S off dealing with a NETWORKING OPPURTUNITY which is just code for one of his cigar-sniffing-money-handling visits in some mansion in Ukraine with Mob Bosses. And I’M DONE. I should’ve left when you did.”

Ben sighed, “Snoke’s gonna give you a hard time.”

She snorted, “Let him try, he knows what I could do to him.”

Ben shifted uncomfortably, imagining the lengths Phasma could go to.

She switched topics. “I’m actually calling to ask if you’d think if I’d get in trouble for stealing Mitaka’s precious golf trophy. He practically worships the thing and-“

Suddenly, in the middle of Phasma’s plotting, Ben’s omelette caught his attention.

There, on the top of his fluffy eggs, was a gleaming, white, long, hair.

AGAIN?!?!

“Ben. Ben. Listen to my Ultimate FU to the World plans! I’m trying to decide between touring the Amazon River or buying a motorcarcle. Are you that annoyed that I interrupted your breakfast?”

Ben picked the hair off and held it up to the light.

“No, I just keeping finding these hairs in my house that I’m convinced belong to that Cat.”

“I thought you said it disappeared? Are you sure you’re not just imagining things?”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t seen it, but there’s nothing else that would be leaving cat hairs all over my apartment.”

She paused a moment, “Have you thought about getting a camera set up inside your house? You can check the footage later. Maybe it will help you figure out how it’s getting in.”

Ben stared at the hair he was holding.

“It’s worth a shot.”

——

Phasma had been 100% serious about the Amazon River trip. And about messing with Mitaka.

She had already sent Ben a photo of her drinking champagne at the airport bar. And she was drinking from Mitaka's gleaming Intramural Golf Trophy at the airport bar.

But, even though Phasma could drag her self-proclaimed “Token-of-War” all over the Amazon, she couldn’t do the same with Hux, her cockatoo. So that also meant that the only person to take care of the Cockatoo for the next three weeks was… Ben.

The long drive from Phasma’s apartment was made longer with constant bird-shrieks in the back of his car.

If he didn’t actually like Phasma better than the rest of the humans Ben knew, he would’ve thrown the bird out 30 minutes ago.

Ben’s eyes eagerly sought out the glorious view of his apartment building as they neared the end of this head-splitting ride. As soon as Ben entered his apartment he was going to put Hux’s cage in the room furtherest from him.

Ben pulled into his usual parking space with a sigh of relief and got out.

He paused before going to get Hux out, who was squawking even more indignantly, if that were even possible.

Ben glanced up at his Apartment window, ready to be done with the day.

But, there, eight floors up, sitting on HIS windowsill, was THE CAT.

Even from far away, Ben could swear it was giving him a look of disdain.

“Get away from my apartment!” Ben called out, cupping his hands around his mouth.

The Cat flicked a tail in his direction before jumping to the windowsill below Ben’s apartment. And then to the next. And then Ben watched as it entered the apartment two floors below his.

Ben quickly grabbed the still-squealing-Hux in his cage and asked Mr. Tekka to keep an eye on the glaring bird for a few minutes. Then Ben charged to the elevator, punching in the 6th floor button.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, he practically ran down the hall and pounded on the door that matched his on the eighth floor.

As the door began to open, Ben immediately launched into a tirade.

“Your cat has been breaking into my apartment for months now, could you stop allowing your pet to roam all over the buildi-“

Ben stopped suddenly when he realized exactly who was standing in front of him. It was that Girl from the elevator. The same Girl from the park with the pretty hair. And the same Girl that he almost ran over in the stairwell.

And she was currently glaring up at him.

“Excuse me?”

Ben forced himself to continue.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but could you please control your pet better? I’ve caught your cat sneaking into my apartment over and over again and-”

She interrupted him, “I don’t even know you. How do you even know I have a cat?”

Ben tried to keep calm.

“I literally just watched it go from my apartment to yours.”

She snorted, “And I’m supposed to believe that?”

He blinked down at her, not understanding where she was coming from.

“What?”

“Forgive me for not believing you, but literally every interaction I’ve had with you has been the worst part of my day. I pretty sure you just have it out for me. Do you even have any evidence my cat has been “breaking” into your apartment?” She retaliated, holding up fingers to give air quotes on the word “breaking”.

Ben clenched his jaw.

“I shouldn’t have to give EVIDENCE for YOUR irresponsible pet ownership and blantant disregard for your neighbor’s privacy-“

She cut in, enraged, “YOUR PRIVACY, when you’re the one coming to my-“

Ben continued over her, “But if you must know, I just put in a home camera and I can show you the video.”

The girl lifted her chin, “Fine.”

That threw Ben for a loop.

“Fine?”

She gave a jerky nod, “Let’s see it.”

Ben gaped at her. What was wrong with this woman?

“Now?”

“Yeah, I want to see this ‘evidence’ you apparently have. No sense putting it off.” Her gaze met his challengingly.

Ben felt his anger rushing back at her suspicion.

“Let’s go get the footage then.”

As Ben began walking to the elevator, the girl came up behind. Then followed the most awkward elevator ride ever.

As soon as the elevator reached his floor, Ben hurried to his door, wanting to get this over with.

It wasn’t until Kylo came rushing happily up to them that Ben realized that it might not be such a good idea to show a woman he suspected was insane where he lived. Too late for that though.

After a quick pat for Kylo and a curious look from the girl, Ben grabbed his Camera control and tapped on the screen.

He ignored the girl’s comment of, “Who installs a camera INSIDE his house?” and selected the only recorded footage, which was today’s.

“Here we go.”

As the girl sidled up next to him, Ben fast-forwarded through footage him getting his shoes beefier heading out for work. And then the speeding footage showed Kylo running around in panic immediately following Ben leaving.

“Is he okay?”

Ben turned toward the girl, expecting to defend himself and Kylo, but then he saw she seemed genuinely concerned as she watched Kylo stress in the video.

“It might’ve been a bad day, he’s been doing good lately.” He replied, not entirely sure why he was talking.

They watched a little bit longer through footage of Kylo fidgeting nervously on the couch until the Cat finally made an appearance. Ben started feeling extra smug to see the Cat slink into the living room from the hallway.

He looked over at the girl, whose eyes were wide.

“How did Bebe even get in there?” she breathed out.

That made Ben pause.

“I actually have no idea.”

They both looked back to the video to see the Cat, Bebe assumedly, jump onto the couch. Ben tensed to see it approach the fretting Kylo.

And then the cat curled up right next to Kylo and rubbed its head fondly over Kylo’s spine. As the cat settled in, Kylo became visibly less tense.

And the two pet owners watched as the previously nervous dog and intruding cat napped and cuddled on the couch together. Ben glanced over at the current Kylo, who was sniffing at the girl curiously, no sign of anxiety.

“This… explains a lot.” Ben murmured.

“What do you mean?”

Ben, realizing too late that speaking out loud would prompt further questioning, reluctantly continued.

“When I first got Kylo, he’d have a really hard time every time I left for work, and I thought I was able to help. But Kylo started calming down about the same time your cat started showing up again.”

She hesitated before asking,“Again?”

“Yeah, your cat first started showing up a bit after I moved in.”

“Oh.” She grew quiet. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that when she disappeared, she was going to other people’s apartments.”

Then she retreated even more into herself, “And I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

Ben cleared his throat.

“No, I… I understand. I haven’t been the,” He paused to find the right words, “most pleasant of neighbors either.”

And then Ben rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, “And I was rude and I almost ran you over in the stairwell, so…”

Her lips quirked up slightly, “I guess that’s true, you do owe me.” Then she sobered up again, promising, “I’ll work on keeping a better track of Bebe.”

“That’d be great.” Ben looked down at her, not feeling an ounce of the same anger he felt earlier. “Thank you. “ He added rather belatedly.

She nodded, “Well, I better cat-proof the exits to my house a bit better.”

She gave an awkward wave before getting ready to leave.

“Wait.” Ben stopped her. “Um, I never got your name.” He flushed, “I just yelled at you despite not knowing anything about you.”

Her expression was rueful, “I’m Rey. So now, if you need to, you can yell at me using my name.”

“No more yelling, I promise.” Ben rushed to say. “And my name’s Ben. I’m sorry again about being so rude. There was a better way to handle all of this, and this wasn’t it so… sorry. Again.”

Rey gave a small smile.

“Next time we see each other will hopefully be better.”

Ben nodded and Rey opened the door and disappeared. After she left, he sat down in the nearest chair.

“Well, that was a disaster.” Ben informed Kylo.

The dog just cocked its head, focusing on Ben’s words.

“I’m sorry I didn’t really help with the anxiety. Even a cat does a better job with that than me.”

Ben stared down into Kylo’s big, trusting eyes.

“Apparently I suck at helping my dog, talking to my neighbors and just being human. And you’re stuck with me.”

Kylo reached out to prod Ben’s hand with his nose.

“I’m going to do better.” Ben nodded to himself, before murmuring, “Not that I can get much worse.”

Kylo sneezed and Ben, despite all his self-loathing, couldn’t help a little smile.

***********************Here's what I think [Bebe](https://www.felinesfancy.com/packs/media/images/cats/Ragamuffin-abe9f3c075a802b0fb018211a924640f.jpg) looks like. And here's [Kylo.](https://ridgebackpuppies.com/uploads/images/joey-grass-1.JPG)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took forever to update! I'm mid-semester and school has been craaaazy. But better late than never.
> 
> I upped the chapter count because it just wasn't possible to fit everything in one chapter. But it shouldn't get any longer after this.

Ben was standing in the center of the city.

And he was monster.

His hulking form blocked the busy intersection. Black shadows flickered over his body. His heavy breaths came out as growls. His face was covered in shade and metal.

He was monster and everyone else could see it.

They looked right into his soul and saw every twisted thought and feeling. And they saw the monster he was.

The people crowding the streets stepped back from him in horror and disgust.

Women and children screamed. Others began throwing rocks.

And there was nothing he could do. Because they were right. He was a monster.

So he remained where he was in the middle of their shrieks and stones. 

A particularly large rock shot his direction, heading straight for his head.

——

Ben jerked awake, sheets tangled around his legs. He stared into the darkness above him, heart racing. His lungs felt almost empty as he sucked in deep breaths to compensate.

Despite having nightly nightmares for years now, he still wasn’t used to the jarring entrance back to reality.

He began to unwind himself from the sheets, barely able to see the form of the bed in the moonlight filtering through his closed blinds.

Then looking up across the room, he yelped upon seeing two glowing orbs staring back at him. 

What the—?

The wide green eyes blinked at him.

Adrenaline rushing, Ben ventured, “Bebe?”

As if in response, the shadow of a fluffy tail flicked out from behind the bright-eyed figure.

Ben sighed in both relief and exasperation.

“I thought Rey catproof-ed her apartment. How’d you even get in?”

Bebe blinked again in reply.

Ben toyed with the idea of chasing Bebe out of the apartment. Or even grabbing Bebe and delivering the cat in person to Rey.

Ben rubbed his tired eyes before glancing back to Bebe.

The cat was now hunched down, eyes half lidded, making itself comfortable on top of Ben’s armchair.

Ben glared at her.

“You shouldn’t be sneaking where you’re not invited, especially in the middle of the night.” 

Ben then mumbled to himself, “Scaring people half to death.” 

Sending Bebe a stern look, he continued, “I’m sure you’re driving your owner insane too because you won’t stay put. Kylo isn’t even awake.”

Bebe ignored Ben in favor of a yawn. Ben paused a moment, one again contemplating kicking Bebe out.

Finally he mumbled to himself, “It can wait til the morning.”

And then, minutes later, Ben had fallen into a dreamless sleep.

——

The next time Ben woke, it was slowly, as if deep fog was clearing from his mind. His eyes blinked open gradually. Sunlight lit the room in a soft glow.

He wondered groggily, ‘Is this how people normally wake up?’

Ben glanced around the room, noticing his sheets tangle free for once. And the cat missing from the armchair.

He sat up and stretched. Did Bebe leave already?

He was interrupted mid-yawn by the sound of Hux’s screeching.

Groaning, he pulled himself out of bed and made his way over to the back room, where he could still hear Hux caterwauling.

Upon opening the door, he saw Hux screaming down at Bebe, who was on her back paws, swiping at the bottom of Cockatoo’s birdcage. Ben could swear her expression was AMUSED.

For once, Ben couldn’t really blame Hux for freaking out.

“Bebe!”

The cat dropped to all fours to shoot Ben a distasteful look.

“None of that. You’re going home, now.”

Ben swooped down to scoop Bebe up. And then winced as the cat hissed and swiped Ben with her claws. 

Despite the bit of blood that was starting to well up over his knuckles, Ben kept a firm grip on the cat. He turned Bebe to look into the cat’s eyes.

“Are you done?”

Bebe huffed, but then yawned, as if bored.

Ben rolled his eyes.

Ignoring the still squawking Hux and holding the cat at arms length, he turned to leave. Ben considered putting on real clothes, but then decided the priority was keeping a hold of Bebe. It wasn’t like he was leaving the apartment building. 

So, in just his plaid pajama pants, Ben side-stepped the awake and overly-interested Kylo (since when did Ben apparently live in a zoo?) and exited his apartment.

Immediately after closing the door behind him, he looked up, only to meet the amused gaze of Ms. Holdo, one of his neighbors.  
“Well, this is an interesting sight first thing in the morning.”

Ben cleared his throat awkwardly, suddenly regretting leaving without a shirt.

“Good morning, Ms. Holdo.”

She grinned.

“I see you have a guest.” She said. 

She nodded to Bebe, who was languidly pawing at Ben’s ribs. He winced as a couple claws caught on his skin.

He held the cat even farther away from his body.

“Um. Right, if you’ll excuse me I have… a delivery to make.”

Ms. Holdo waved him off, “Don’t let me hold you back.”

Ben murmured an awkward goodbye before turning to head downstairs.

After descending down one floor, Ben glanced around the corner of the stairwell before continuing, checking that there wasn’t anyone in the hallway. Thankfully avoiding any more awkward encounters with neighbors, Ben finally reached Rey’s door. Carefully maneuvering Bebe in his hands, he rang the doorbell.

Twenty seconds later, the door was yanked open to reveal Rey, obviously having just woken up.

Her hair was disheveled, there were pillow-creases on her left cheek and she had on a pair of sleep shorts and an oversized shirt that was almost slipping off a shoulder.

She looked a bit of a mess, but Ben couldn’t help thinking, ‘cute.’ 

Bebe’s claws dug punishingly into Ben’s wrist, almost as if she knew what Ben was thinking.

Rey blinked at him, or, more specifically, at his bare chest, “Uh— shirt—“

For the second time, Ben regretted not changing before leaving his apartment.

“Sorry, I just came down to return this.”

Ben lifted up Bebe to Rey’s eye-level. 

Rey stared. 

Bebe sneezed in Rey’s bewildered face.

“Oh.” she said blankly, obviously unsure what was going on. Then her eyes finally widened.

“Oh!” She repeated, but much more awake this time. She reached out, pulling a bored Bebe out Ben’s hands, “I’m so so so sorry! I didn’t— I promise I cat-proofed all the— I’m so sorry— really—!”

Ben grimaced. Why was he always making Rey either angry or apologetic?

“Have you considered the possibility of your cat being able to teleport?”

Rey stopped mid apology to gape at Ben. Ben cringed inwardly but didn't stop himself from continuing, “It seems like the most plausible explanation to me.”

Rey’s mouth closed.

“You may be right. That or apparition.” She said, the hand that wasn’t gripping Bebe rubbing at her eyes. Looking back up at Ben she offered, “I’ll check over my apartment a second time, but, if Bebe ever ends up at your apartment again, you can just call me and I can come get her myself.”

“Call you?” Ben repeated. 

“Yeah, I’ll just— do you have your phone with you?”

Ben glanced down at his plaid pajama pants, “No.”

Rey held out a finger, “Wait a second.”

She turned around and dropped Bebe to the apartment floor. Rey grabbed a purse hanging by the door, digging inside as the cat meandered into the apartment without a backward glance.

“I just need a—“ Pulling out a pen, she exclaimed, “Here we go!”

Then she grabbed at Ben’s hand, pulling it towards her.

Ben jumped a little at the sudden touch. He wasn’t used to people voluntarily initiating physical contact with him. Being so huge, anti-social and constantly wearing black kinda discouraged that. 

Not noticing his surprise, Rey began writing a series of numbers on his forearm, “I work from home, so you can call or text me at any time and I’ll probably be here.”

When Ben was finally able to pull back his arm, he stared down at the numbers.

Rey continued, “And I don’t care what time it is. If Bebe’s bothering you, just let me know and I’ll come take care of it.”

Ben looked back up at Rey, meeting her hazel eyes.

“Thanks.”

Rey bit her lip a moment before responding.

“You don’t have to thank me, it’s my cat invading your space. I even made you come down in—” Rey cut herself off, suddenly flushing.Ben shrugged. He might’ve given Ms. Holdo more of an eyeful than she expected. And he had some claw marks that he should go disinfect. But, otherwise, it wasn’t a total trainwreck.

Rey smiled ruefully. And then her gaze darted past him to the mirror in the hallway. Her face flushed an even darker shade of red as she finally noticed the state she was in. Her hands darted to her hair.

Ben decided now was a good time to gracefully bow out.

“Um, yeah, if I come across Bebe again, I’ll let you know.”

“Oh, thanks.” She responded distractedly.

Ben started back upstairs. 

And he thought, ‘strangely enough, this was drastic improvement to their previous interactions.’

——

“Here you go.”

Ben stared down at the GIANT bucket of Korean Fried Chicken sitting on the take-out counter.

“Uh, that’s definitely not my order.”

The server tilted her head in confusion, the bubble-gum-pink tips of her blonde ponytail swinging. Her name tag, featuring the restaurant’s grinning rooster mascot symbol showed her name was Kaydel.

“Your order number is 1168, right?”

“Yes. But there’s no way I ordered this much chicken.” He said, gesturing the massive amount of fried chicken in front of him. Seriously, he could bath Kylo in that container, it was so big.

The server grimaced, checking the computer screen in front of her again. 

“It seems there’s been a mix-up, we’ve been having troubles sitting to our new program. I’m so sorry about that.” She said with a sincere tone. “You can have the rest of the order with no extra charge.”

Ben stared back down at the enormous tub of chicken in front of him. No way would he be able to eat that much chicken on his own. He had only ordered an 8-piece box to-go, for heaven’s sake.

“I don’t—“

The server shook her head apologetically.

“It’s against restaurant policy to repackage food after it’s already served. I can throw the extra away for you but…”

Ben glanced back at the line of hipster-esque people queuing behind him and decided to just take the bucket.

By the time Ben had walked the few blocks back to his apartment building, his arms were aching from carrying the giant bucket of chicken. (Why was it even an option to even order this much chicken?) Luckily, the autumn air was brisk enough that the heat seeping through the container didn’t feel too hot.

He was reaching for the front door of his apartment building when the door suddenly pushed open from the other side.

And because the universe likes to play games with him, it happened to be Poe Dameron coming through the door. Upon noticing Ben, he stopped in his tracks, effectively blocking Ben from squeezing through the door.

“Solo!” Poe grinned, eyes darting down to the huge bucket of Korean Fried Chicken, “You throwing a party?”

Giving no more than a curt “no”, Ben stepped forward, hoping Poe would take the hint and just let him past. Between his order mix-up and his aching arms, Ben was ESPECIALLY not in the mood for Poe’s snooping today.

Poe chuckled, “Don’t tell me you’re going to eat all of that by yourself?” He looked Ben up and down appraisingly, “I mean, you’re a huge guy and all, but that’s got to be like 80 pieces of chicken. No way.”

Ben glared at him, “Well, luckily, it’s none of your business. So please get out of my way.”

Ben could tell from Poe’s expression that he was sorely tempted to stay rooted where he was, to torment Ben some more. But after a moment’s hesitation, Poe side-stepped, freeing up the doorway.

Before Poe could open his mouth again, Ben was pushing past, bee-lining it for the elevator, only sparing a nod for Mr. Tekka at the front desk.

As the elevator doors started to close, Ben caught a glimpse of Poe talking animately on his cell phone, eyes gleaming.

——

Sure enough, Ben had barely made past his apartment door, put down the over-sized bucket of chicken and greeted an excited Kylo, when his phone started ringing.

He scowled down at his mother’s name on the screen.

Kriffing Poe Dameron.

Answering his phone, Ben started with, “Can you tell Dameron to stop spying on me?”

“Hello Ben!” Leia’s voice was bright. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Poe spying on you.” She plowed on, taking an oblivious tone to Ben’s accusation, “But, funnily enough, I was just on the phone with him and Poe told me you’re throwing a party.” She informed Ben, sounding delighted.

Ben groaned, Kylo nosing at his pants in concern. Ben opened the container of chicken, taking a good first look at how much chicken there was. There was a lot.

“Dameron doesn’t know what he’s talking about. This new restaurant I’ve been wanting to try mixed-up my take-out order, so I’ve just got an enormous amount of chicken. No parties.”

“Oh.” Leia seemed disappointed for a second before perking up again, “Well, maybe this is the perfect excuse to have an actual get-together! You can invite your neighbors and that friend of yours! You know, that tall girl with the weird name? What was it again? Fasima?”

“Phasma.” Ben corrected, one of his hands rubbing at his temple.

“Right! You could give them a chance to meet Kylo. And it would be so good for you to have people over for once! I’m worried that you spend so much time alone. A little party would be perfect! I’ve been wanting to have some people over to the house recently but with your father not feeling so good, it’s been—“

Preparing himself for a particularly long rant from his mother, Ben turned to go sit on the couch. Only to find that it was already occupied by a lounging Bebe.

The cat’s lazy gaze moved between Ben and his giant bucket of chicken, expression judging.

“Um, mom, I’ve got to go, I’ve got a guest.”

“A guest?!” Leia exclaimed, overjoyed, “Who—“

“Talk to you later mom, bye.”

Ben hung up and stared down Bebe. The cat glared back, meeting the challenge. 

Kylo was sitting at Ben’s feet and his eyes switched back and forth between the two, grinning and panting, his tongue lolling. Clearly he was in heaven, having his two favorite creatures in the same room.

“Look,” Ben began, still not sure why he insisted on talking out loud to Bebe, like the cat was capable of human speech or thought, “I get that you’re hanging out with Kylo, I can’t really be mad about that. But I’m back, so just go.”

Ben waved his hands to shoo her away.

Bebe wrinkled a furry nose at Ben, unimpressed.

Ben sighed.

“Are you really going to make me bother your owner? Can’t you just go back on your own?”

Bebe yawned and settled even deeper into the couch, probably getting cat hair between the cushions that Ben would have to clean out later. Kylo looked up at Ben, wide-eyed, confused at Ben’s frustration. 

Glaring at Bebe, Ben pulled out his phone to shoot a text to Rey.

B: Hey, it’s Ben from upstairs. Sorry to bother you, but Bebe’s here.

Twenty seconds later, his phone lit up with Rey’s reply.

R: Be there in 2

Ben quickly typed out, 

B: No hurry. 

He turn back to scold Bebe, “You should stop causing so much trouble for your owner. I’m sure it’s stressing her out.”

Bebe just narrowed her eyes, tail flicking slightly.

With a frustrated sigh, Ben crouched down to focus on Kylo instead, rubbing his ears.

“You weren’t too anxious today while I was gone, right?”

Kylo practically climbed into Ben’s lap, huffing happily, only pausing ever once in while to dart his eyes towards the container of hot chicken. Bebe stayed lounging on the couch, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze.

When a knock came from the door, Kylo perked up and dashed toward the sound. Ben went to the door, positioning himself so that he blocked the puppy from exiting the apartment. No need for another repeat of the elevator-incident.

Rey stood at the other side, serious expression at odds with her messy bun and ripped up baggy jeans.

“Look, I’m so sorry that this still—“Kylo popped his head through the tiny space between Ben’s knees. 

“Kylo!” Rey exclaimed happily mid-sentence, features transforming.

She crouched down to boop the puppy’s nose, a broad smile spreading across her face. Kylo started squirming and pushing against Ben’s legs, as if he could wriggle his way to her.

Ben whirled around, pulling a determined Kylo back by the collar from bursting through the doorway. 

“Come on in, Rey.”

Rey walked in, closing the door behind her. And then she giggled as Ben released Kylo and the dog immediately raced back to her. She crouched down again to pet him, cooing. Ben stood by, content to watch his puppy be fawned over. 

But sudden movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

He whirled around to see Bebe perched on the kitchen table, preparing to pounce on the giant open container of Korean Fried Chicken. 

Swearing, Ben dashed toward the kitchen table, slamming his toe painfully into one of the wooden chairs, but still catching Bebe mid-leap.

He lifted the cat up to look her in the eyes, “No. That was a bad idea.”

Bebe grumbled back at him in reply, while refusing to look at him.

“Good catch.”

Ben looked back at Rey, who was still crouching, her arm wrapped around a panting Kylo. She stared wide-eyed up at Ben, expression simultaneously guilty and impressed.

“Sorry, Bebe’s such a handful. I should’ve raised her better than this.”

Ben glanced back down at Bebe, who was still grumpy.

“I have a feeling no amount of training would make her act any differently.”

Rey sent him a tired smile, “You’re probably right. She’s the stubbornest creature I’ve ever met.” Then Rey’s eyes focused on the take-out bucket on the table, “What’s that?”

Ben sighed, stooping down to drop a droopy Bebe onto the floor, “The restaurant I ordered from gave me way too much chicken.”

“How much did you order?”

“8 pieces.”

Rey blinked at the giant bucket.

“No way that’s close to 8 pieces.”

Ben nodded wearily, “Yeah, I have no idea what—“

He paused suddenly, with an idea of how to get rid of some of the overwhelming amount of chicken in mind.  
“Would you like some?”

Rey stood up, releasing Kylo to walk to the kitchen area, “Sure! Smells good.”

Ben grabbed a plate for her as she opened the bucket. 

“Looks good too.”

Rey took the plate Ben offered and started loading up on crispy chicken, Kylo coming to station himself at Rey’s feet, hoping for scraps. And then, instead of scooping up Bebe and walking out the door with chicken in hand like Ben had envisioned, Rey plopped down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

Startled, Ben watched her dig into a chicken wing, humming happily. 

“And it tastes good too.” She smiled up at him.

Suddenly, Ben couldn’t stomach the idea of telling her to leave.

Rey gestured at the chicken, “Are you going to eat?”

Unable to find an adequate reason to say no, Ben went to get his own plate.

——

Between him and Rey, they were able to eat ALMOST all the chicken in four days. To help get rid of it, Ben also went to offer Ms. Holdo some. (But not to Poe, because of reasons.)

Even then, Ben ended up having to throw some of it away before it went bad.

But, it was the start of a new kind of unspoken tradition between him and Rey. 

Bebe would still somehow make her way into Ben’s apartment, he would text Rey, and Rey would come up to eat fried chicken and baby and play with Kylo before taking Bebe home.

And when they had to get rid of what was left of the chicken, Rey showed up the next time with a carton of Cookies ’n Cream ice cream.

He had no idea why Rey kept sticking around. Was she bored? Did she just have something against eating alone? Did she like his apartment better? Ben wasn’t sure what to think about their new tradition, so he just avoided thinking about it too much. He couldn’t even decide whether he liked or disliked Rey inserting herself into his apartment.

All he knew was, each time he came home from work and found Bebe climbing his drapes or batting at Kylo’s ears, he would text Rey and then begin searching his kitchen for something to contribute their impromptu meal.

And they would talk. Perhaps a bit awkwardly. And never about anything too serious. He discovered that she was freelance graphic designer, which explained how she was able to work from home and have such a flexible schedule. Rey learned that he had moved in back in March and he bought most of his furniture at Ikea. Small talk kind of things.

But whenever one of them would ask about each other’s childhood, both of them would clam up.

So, instead, they stuck with talking about food and pets and furniture and other easy subjects. Both of them seemed a bit unused to interacting with other people, but neither of them made any attempt to end their shared meals. 

And three weeks passed like that, meeting up every few days, thanks to Bebe, and eating take-out containers of Tom Kha Gai, day-old pizza and whatever else they could find.

One thing that Ben took great satisfaction in was that Rey seemed to dislike Hux just as much as he did.

“He’s a jerk.” She proclaimed she distastefully watched Hux glower at Ben.

Ben snorted, pulling his hand back as Hux’s snapping beak got too close to his thumb, “Tell me about it.”

“And you said his owner’s in the Amazon?”

“Yeah, she’ll be back in like a week though.”

Rey hummed, “Do you have a picture of her?”

Ben set down the bag of Bird Feed he’d been using to refill Hux’s food to fish out his phone.

Scrolling through his minimal photo library, he found one of Phasma and him, back from when they were both working for the Senator. The two of them had ducked out of one of Snoke’s rallies or whatever to grab some food and found some tiny British-Style pub. The waiter had taken a picture of the two of them standing at the bar, Phasma smirking and holding up a basket of fish and chips twice the size of her head and Ben staring at the amount of food in front of them incredulously. Not his favorite photo, but neither him or Phasma were picture taking people.

“Wow.” Ben waited for her to say what most people did with when they saw Phasma, ‘she’s so TALL’. But instead, Rey murmured, “She’s stunning. And you said she’s traveling the world?”

Ben glanced over at her, noticing her wistful expression.

“I wouldn’t really say she’s traveling the WORLD, just half of South America.”

“Yeah, but—“ Rey bit her lip, hesitating a moment, “I’ve never even left the state.”

Ben startled. And then started thinking guiltily back to the trips he used to take with his parents when he was younger to Europe and the Caribbean. Trips filled with his parents dragging a reluctant Ben to museums and beaches and expensive restaurants.

Rey took one more look at the photo on Ben’s phone before handing it back, “She seems awesome. But she’s got terrible taste in pets though.”

Ben nodded, putting his phone away so they could walk back to the kitchen, back to their dirty dishes sitting on the table and now-empty container of Mongolian Beef, “Yeah, I’ve got nothing against most birds, but Hux is a piece of work.”

When Rey beelined for the dishes waiting in the sink, Ben shooed Rey wordlessly away like he always did, pointing her to the living room.

Rey pouted a moment before setting down next Bebe on the couch, rubbing at the cat’s ears. As Rey settled in, Ben turned to the sink to start the cleaning up himself.

“I’ve met some nice birds,” Rey continued over the noise of the running sink, “But I don’t really understand why someone would choose to have a Cockatoo when they could get a dog or cat.”

“Would you say you’re a cat person?” Ben asked.

Rey chuckled, “I’d say I like dogs and cats equally. I’m horrible at picking favorites, so it’s probably a good thing I didn’t need to decide between the two when I got Bebe.”

Ben looked back her, where she was looking fondly down at a snoozing Bebe.

“How did you get Bebe?”

“She was actually my friend Finn’s cat. But his new roommate is allergic to cat hair, so Bebe ended up with me.” Rey said. “It works out, because I’d been thinking about a pet anyways and Finn gets to visit Bebe often.”

Ben hummed in response, wondering what this Finn guy was like. And how Rey said he visits “Often”. What does THAT mean?

“What about you? How’d you get Kylo?” Rey asked.

“I picked him up from one of the breeders just outside of town, this place called Happy Hielkin’s Farms.”

“Oh, I like that name. What made you decide to get him?”

Ben paused, trying to find an answer that sounded more flattering than just, ‘I was lonely.’

“It just… felt like time. Besides—” 

Ben glances down at Kylo, who was staring back to him adoringly from his position on the kitchen floor. 

“He’s cute.” Ben admitted gruffly.

Rey chuckled and Ben threw a glance over his shoulder self-consciously just in time to see Rey send him a knowing look before focusing her own attention on Kylo.

“Yes, he is!” She crooned at the dog, who immediately started wagging his tail excitedly and making his way over to Rey on lanky legs. She reached out to Kylo, cupping his face in her hands, “Kylo is the cutest dog! Aren’t you!”

Ben rolled his eyes at Rey’s attempts at babying Kylo, but couldn’t help the small smile spreading on his lips.

With Rey’s murmurs to Kylo in the background, Ben finished the last few minutes of cleaning. Things were quiet when he finally turned off the sink.

Then, as he turned to finally face the living room, Ben found the three others in a pile on the couch, Rey blinking sleepily with Kylo’s lanky body curled up on her lap and Bebe drooped languidly over Rey’s shoulders. 

Ben’s heart did something weird at the sight. There was a sudden rush of warmth, his heartbeat feeling louder than normal. His skin kind of ached, not from overexertion, but from feeling an overwhelming need to join them. He wanted to tangle himself up in them, Kylo’s head in his lap, Ben’s shoulder under Rey’s nodding head. 

It was kinda confusing really, he barely knew Rey and while he was just beginning not to despise Bebe, he wouldn’t say he LIKED the cat. And he still didn’t know WHY Rey kept spending time over and why she just wouldn’t LEAVE, which was only adding to the strangeness of the situation. 

All Ben was really understanding was that he was feeling HAPPY seeing the odd knot of sleepy creatures on his couch. With some sort of longing. And he suddenly didn’t want this moment to end.

——

Phasma wasn’t exactly beaming when the car door opened to reveal a scowling Hux safe in his cage. (Not that Ben would expect ANYONE to be beaming at Hux, the bird was the worst. He didn’t get the appeal.) Phasma’s expression barely changed as Ben reached into his car to pick up the wire cage. But her eyes seemed to smile at the sight of her cockatoo, if that was possible.

She reached out to take him from Ben, about a dozen new thread bracelets lining her long arms and her cheeks flushed from four weeks in the Southern Hemisphere, “How did he do while I was gone?”

Ben winced thinking about the times he woke up too early to the bird’s screeching and how many scratches he had on his hands, thanks to Hux’s talons.

He shrugged.

Phasma laughed at his expense, “That bad, huh?”

She cast an amused glance at the cockatoo, who glared back up at her.

“Well thanks for keeping him alive for me.”

Ben grunted in response. Phasma turned towards where her truck was sitting just outside the Park they agreed to meet at to exchange Hux.

“How was the Amazon?” He asked as she ducked into her truck to buckle in Hux’s cage.

“Great! I got to touch a wild python. They had to detach it from my neck.” She called out, her voice muffled from inside the truck.

He blinked, somehow both surprised and unsurprised at the same time.

“What did you end up doing with Mitaka’s trophy?”

“I gifted it to a friend I made while on a River tour. It’s probably hanging out on some shelf in a village somewhere.” She climbed back out of the truck, pointing a finger in Ben’s direction, “By the way, if anyone ever asks about that, we have no idea what happened to it, alright?”

He hummed in agreement.

Phasma nodded, satisfied, before moving on, “So, whatever happened to that cat burger of yours?”

“…. Uh, well…. the camera idea worked.”

Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly at his hesitation, “You’ve caught the cat on video?”

“Yeah, but we haven’t figured out a way to keep her from sneaking in.”

Phasma’s head perked up, like a hound catching a scent. Ben winced, realizing his mistake too late.

“We? Who’s ‘we’? There’s never a ‘we’ with you.”

Ben shuffled awkwardly in place, somehow uncomfortable at the thought of explaining Rey, “The owner, she’s been working on finding out how Bebe, the cat, has been getting out.”

“She?” Phasma arched a brow.

Ben forced his expression to not change, “Yes, the owner’s name is Rey.”

“And how often do you see ‘Rey’?” Phasma asked, placing emphasis on Rey’s name.

Ben instantly froze up, feeling caught for some reason he couldn’t understand. When he took a second too long to answer, Phasma grabbed him by his upper arm, pulling him towards a park bench. Ben couldn’t help marveling at her strength. There were very few people, let alone women, who could manhandle him so easily.

“Alright, once we sit down, you’re going to tell me the whole story.”

“Who said there’s a story?” Ben protested as Phasma sat him down next to her.

Phasma didn’t reply, just sat expectantly, attention focused on him.

“I don’t know why I’m friends with you.” He grumbled.

“Because I’m awesome, anyone would be lucky to be my friend. But stop delaying and start talking.”

Ben sighed, knowing that Phasma wouldn’t be letting it go.

He began telling her about going to confront Rey after seeing Bebe sneaking out of her apartment. He glossed over some details, still strangely reluctant to reveal just how much time Rey and him were starting to spend together.

Phasma inspected him thoughtfully as he finished talking. Ben shifted against the hard metal of the bench under Phasma’s intense gaze.

She finally spoke.

“And you think this ‘Rey’ is cute?”

Ben gaped, not expecting the question.

“What—? That’s not— What—?” He stammered.

Phasma smirked.

“That’s definitely a yes.”

Ben slumped against the back of the bench exasperated, “You don’t know anything else about her except what I told you! She could be seventy years old and wearing dentures for all you know!”

Phasma just waved him off.

“You’re too easy to read, Ben, just accept it.”

He huffed.

“She’s not ugly,” Ben admitted in a mumble, “but it’s not like she’s my type or anything.”

Phasma snorted, “I guarantee you don’t know what your “type” is.”

“Of course I know what my type is!”

She sent him an unimpressed look, “Then what is it?”

Phasma’s question brought Ben’s brain to a sudden halt.

“It’s- uh….”

All of Ben’s thoughts completely disappeared, leaving only the image of chestnut hair bent over a book, under a backdrop of autumn leaves.

Panicked, Ben stammered. 

Phasma just shook her head, “It’s obviousYou’ve got a crush.”

“Crush?!” Ben repeated indignantly and loudly.

A woman with a stroller glared at him from over at the playground.

Ben sent her a sorry look before leaning forward to whisper aggressively at Phasma.

“I barely even know Rey. Her cat just keeps showing up at my apartment. And either of them know when to leave. It’s a nuisance. I’m not… harboring secret feelings for Rey.”

Phasma shrugged, “It might take a while, but eventually you’ll realize you’re starting to fall for this girl.”

Ben stood up, decidedly done with the conversation.

“I’m leaving. We’ll talk some other time.”

She chuckled, “Fine. We’re still on for coffee next Sunday, right?”

Ben just nodded, already turning away to escape for his car.

She called after him, “And Ben? Keep me updated on your Cat-Lady Lover.”

Without turning around, Ben held up his hand in a less-then-flattering sign.

Phasma’s cackle followed him.

Once in his car, Ben turned the first radio station he found up at almost full volume. Loud punk rock filled his car, making it difficult to think about much else.

But, still, he kept repeating to himself that Phasma didn’t know what she was talking about. When Bebe stopped sneaking around, Rey would disappear, from both his apartment and his mind. It was nothing more than that. There was nothing deeper to their interactions than that.

——

By the time Ben’s doorbell rang, he had dragged out some pancake mix to share and Bebe had thankfully moved from her previous position in Kylo’s food bowl (Which is where Ben had found her when he first woke up.) in favor of perching on top of the couch. 

Kylo danced around Ben’s feet, practically tripping him as Ben went to the front door. 

He was attempting to shove Phasma’s comments from the day before into the back of his mind. She had no idea what she was talking about. Phasma always did like messing with Ben’s head. 

He was decidedly NOT nervous to see Rey again. 

That was what he told himself repeatedly as he pulled on the door handle.

And then he looked down into Rey’s smiling face, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly at the sight of him. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head, a few tendrils falling down to frame her face. She was wearing a worn Fleetwood Mac t-shirt over some leggings, fluffy slippers on her feet. Both her arms were wrapped around an over-sized tub of cheap syrup, no doubt to be used on Ben’s pancakes.

His stomach suddenly twisted at the sight of her, giant jug of syrup, smile and all, his chest growing warm.

And, then, his only thought was how much he hated Phasma for always being right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say how much I love Phasma? 
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve just realized that this my second fic with Reylo dealing with animals on the loose. Why am I like this?
> 
> Also, I'd love a comment :) Nothing's more motivating for me than a good comment.


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